It is well known in the design and manufacture of vehicles to provide seals at locations where components pass through the passenger compartment dash panel. These seals typically partially support the weight and enhance the performance of certain components. These seals also serve to prevent the intrusion of dirt fumes and water into the passenger compartment and limit the transmission of noise and vibration from the component into the passenger compartment.
One type of dash mounted seal is the steering column intermediate shaft seal. A steering column intermediate shaft seal of the prior art is generally comprised of a single rubber casting and is installed within a hole in the dash panel and secured therein by an integrally molded locking feature. The seal of the prior art includes a single plastic bushing disposed therein for rotatably supporting an intermediate shaft of a steering column.
An intermediate shaft is typically mounted to other shafts comprising a steering column between a body mounted upper shaft and a chassis mounted steering gear and is routed through the dash mounted seal. The position of the steering gear in relation to the dash seal is typically different for different model vehicles and as such each vehicle model has a unique dash mounted seal. The seal prevents moisture and particle intrusion into the passenger compartment by employing compliable sealing features both at the intermediate shaft and at the dash opening. The sealing features, together with the compliant rubber material itself, also serve to reduce the amount of noise and vibration transmitted from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment. The bushing disposed within the seal and bellows features on the seal further provide low rotary friction support for the rotation of the intermediate shaft during operation of the steering column.